U.S. Coast Guard removed the sloop Clearwater from a July 4 New York Harbor parade over its advocacy banners

On July 4, 2026, a U.S. Coast Guard gunboat crew approached the sloop Clearwater during the Sail4th 250 Parade of Sail in New York Harbor and ordered it to leave the procession. The historic replica vessel — maintained by the environmental nonprofit Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, founded in the 1960s by folk singer and activist Pete Seeger — carried two banners on its sails: "Save the Clean Water Act" and "Indigenous Rights, Racial Justice, Climate Solutions." Video shared by the nonprofit shows Coast Guard boats circling the sloop as its crew was told it was not authorized to be in the security zone and warned of possible fines and arrests. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy vessels and the NYPD escorted the ship out; it had been assigned to escort the Portuguese Navy tall ship NRP Sagres through the harbor.

The Coast Guard said parade participants had agreed to conditions set by the organizer, Sail4th America 250, that barred displaying political or politically charged messages, and that the sloop's owner was asked to remove the banners or leave. The organizer's spokesperson said every captain had signed an agreement prohibiting flags or signs without prior review. The nonprofit disputed the account, saying its crew was never offered the chance to take the banners down before being ordered away, and that it had understood the ban to cover promotional advertising rather than advocacy messages.